B2
Columbia Gorge News
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
www.columbiagorgenews.com
SPORTS
La Salle awaits Hood River in Friday football opener
Dufur, South Wasco
and Sherman also
open belated 2020
seasons this weekend
A core group of Hood River
Valley seniors – not unlike those
at other schools - were wondering
if this day would ever come; when
they could strap on the pads,
helmets, and cleats, and get after it
again on the football field. Eighteen
months of waiting out a pandemic
and they will finally get that chance
Friday night.
An Eagle team, that has been
fluctuating between 45 to 50 play-
ers, is coming off its first week of
full contact practices.
“It’s been great. Selfishly for me,
I love being out there; just seeing
the kids,” Hood River Coach Caleb
Sperry said. “The kids are excited
to have something to be a part of.
A lot of those kids, they wanted to
have a senior season, and now they
will get that chance.”
There will be no easing into
things for HRV, whose scheduled
opener is 7 p.m. Friday at La Salle
in Milwaukie. The Falcons are a
talented bunch, returning most
of the skill players from their 4-5
playoff team from 2019. The last
time these teams played, Oct. 4,
2019, the Falcons won an offensive
slugfest, 54-46. La Salle is led by
first-team all-league quarterback,
senior Ryan Rosumny; first-team
all-league running back and kick
returner, senior James Menor;
first-team all-league wide receiver,
junior Riley Peterson; first-team all-
league kicker, junior Nolan Ahman;
and first-team all-league lineback-
er, junior Brody Crowley.
“They spread you out and do a
good job of the same things (we
like to do),” Sperry said. “Trying to
get a running game going.”
Hood River will counter La Salle
with highly touted senior line-
men Henry Buckles and Emilio
Castaneda, who each have signed
to play college football and will
anchor the Eagles’ offensive and
defensive fronts. The Eagles were
one win shy of reaching the state
playoffs in 2019, when they lost
at Hillsboro in a play-in game to
conclude their season. HRV and La
Salle tied for third place with 3-2
league records in the District 1 East
Division.
“We’ve got a great offensive line
and a good running game,” Sperry
said. “We’ve got some really talent-
ed guys coming back.”
The list continues with senior
all-leaguer Tanner Fletcher, who
led the district in rushing in 2019
and also is a starter at defensive
linebacker for the Eagles. Trenton
Hughes was an all-league receiver
in 2019 and Sperry will use the
junior’s athletic ability at quar-
terback this spring. “He’s fast and
explosive,” Sperry said.
“We’ve got some kids who have
moved up through the ranks and
are ready for varsity football,” he
added. “(It’s nice) every year to
have that new group that comes
in and gets to make a name for
themselves.”
HRV will run a spread offensive
with multiple looks. “We liked to
be balanced. We begin by trying to
establish a running game. I would
love to see perfect balance; that’s
the hardest on a defense. (But)
we’ll take what we can get.”
And that’s a great philosophy,
especially during an ongoing
pandemic.
Two other Gorge schools are
scheduled to play their openers
this weekend. Dufur, the perennial
Class 1A eight-man title contender,
plays Friday at home against 2A
Pilot Rock. The Rangers have won
more state football champion-
ships than any other team – at any
level in Oregon. Dufur’s streak of
four straight titles was broken in
2019, when the Rangers lost in the
state semifinals. Dufur and Pilot
Hood River Coach Caleb Sperry keeps an eye on things during a recent practice.
The 2020 season kicks off this weekend.
Rock played last season, when the
Rockets won, 50-30.
Dufur returns all-league quar-
terback/safety Cooper Bales and
all-league linemen Trey Darden.
The interior line has three other
four-year varsity players in Caleb
Olson, Hunter Wagonblast and
Josiah Dave. Added to the skill po-
sition mix is senior Ben Schanno,
an athletic receiver/defensive back,
who transferred to Dufur from The
Dalles.
In Class 1A six-man games,
South Wasco is at Prairie City for a
1 p.m. Friday contest, and Sherman
plays 1 p.m. Saturday at Echo.
The Dalles has its 5A season
opener March 12 at Putnam of
Milwaukie.
TDHS soccer teams hope to ride wave of success
Weber
■ By For Mike
Columbia Gorge News
When The Dalles High
School boys and girls soccer
teams last played games, it
was in the 2019 state playoffs
and served as an indicator of
the successful strides they’ve
made up the Intermountain
Conference ranks. The
Riverhawk teams are eager
to take another step.
For the boys, it was Nov.
6, 2019 in the first round of
the playoffs. Undefeated La
Salle (17-0-1) won 5-0 and
eventually won the state
championship, while The
Dalles concluded the season
with a 6-8-1 record.
For the girls, it was Nov. 5,
2019, also in the first round
of the state playoffs (an 8-0
loss to Crescent Valley).
Shortly after that contest,
everything turned upside
down with the spread of
the worldwide COVID-19
pandemic and the shut-
ting down of Oregon and
Washington high school
sports. Health and safety
guidelines recently issued
by Gov. Kate Brown and the
Oregon Health Authority
have deemed it safe for
teams to resume athletic
events.
Of course, nobody
could have imagined back
then that the Riverhawks
wouldn’t play again until
2021. However, things have
finally turned around in
the ongoing battle with the
coronavirus pandemic.
The lifestyle for sports-ori-
ented families seems to be
returning somewhat back
to normal with high school
athletics beginning again.
TD boys soccer
The Riverhawks, guided
by fifth-year coach Matt
Dallman, started daily prac-
tices Feb. 22 in preparation
for their first game at home
Thursday at 4 p.m. against
the Class 3A Riverside
Pirates. Dallman and his
25-member varsity/JV squad
are looking forward to play-
ing a match for the first time
in 16 months.
“It’s an interesting year,
especially since we haven’t
played in nearly a year and a
half,” said Dallman, 35, who
led The Dalles to a third-
place finish in the six-team
Intermountain Conference
standings with a 6-3-1 record
in 2019. “We’re going into
the season having only about
one and a half weeks of prac-
tice, but it’s the same tough
situation for everyone, so it’s
hard for every team. We’re
super happy to be back out
onto the field and we feel
lucky just to be able to have
a season.”
A notable 2019 highlight
was that the Riverhawks won
a boys soccer game against
the Hood River Valley Eagles
for the first time ever in The
Dalles High School history.
Dallman was selected 2019
Intermountain Conference
coach of the year.
This season, the
Riverhawks will be led
by seniors Omar Torres,
Juan Mejia, Jaimie Castro,
Alejandro Gutierrez and
Preet Patel. “I expect that
we’ll have a lot of leadership
from Castro, who is a very
smart and experienced goal-
keeper,” said Dallman. “Our
center defender, Torres, is
an incredibly smart and tal-
ented player who has been
a starter every year since he
was a freshman. We expect
him to provide lots of lead-
ership for our team, while
setting an example for the
younger players. Gutierrez
is our forward and who is
big (6-foot-1), strong and
capable of scoring a majority
of our goals.”
Juniors who will also help
provide the Riverhawks
with a solid 14-member
varsity squad include Rowan
Simpson, Harry Proctor,
Jordan Buettner, Alex Wood
and Tristan Bass. Wood was
a second-team, all-league
selection in 2019. The team
also includes sophomores
Grey Roetcisoender, Miguel
Leon and Fabian Canchola
(second-team, all-league)
and freshmen Carter Randall
and Oswaldo Heredia
Vargas.
The OSAA Season 2
schedule of traditional fall
sports - football, soccer,
cross country and volleyball
- concludes April 11. A nine-
game Riverhawk schedule
includes the final regular
season game April 1 at home
against Hood River.
“Managing the whole
pandemic situation to make
sure that kids are safe is a big
part of my job this year,” said
Dallman. “That’s in addition
to the usual things like mak-
ing sure kids get to the game
and having them eligible to
play, as well. There’s so many
things that happen behind
the scene in coaching, but
this year, there’s even more
than normal. I love coaching
and teaching kids soccer and
I just can’t imagine how bad
the kids felt about not being
able to play. I felt heartbro-
ken for the kids when they
were unable to play last year,
because it was really an aw-
ful experience for them.”
Because of the short-
er-than-normal season, the
OSAA decided it will not
conduct state champion-
ships. Each school will or-
ganize a schedule of events
The Dalles High School boys soccer Head Coach Matt Dallman,
for the culminating week
above, directs his team through a drill during practice last week. At
April 5-11 to determine an
right, TDHS junior Rowan Simpson, Jr. runs through a drill.
appropriate way to conclude
Mark B. Gibson photos
the season. Dallman said the
Intermountain Conference
will probably conduct league play soccer,” said Tonn, 41,
first-team, all-league selec-
playoffs to conclude the sea- who returned to the squad
tion in 2019.
son; athletic directors at the
for a seventh season in 2019,
“They’re all very excit-
six schools are in the process after a three-year hiatus. The ed about the season and
of formulating a schedule.
Dalles was 6-7-1 in 2019,
they’re ready to go,” said
6-4 in the Intermountain
Tonn. “Zara is our striker
TD girls soccer
Conference.
and she’s a good team leader
“It’s been such a long time who leads by example and
A strong senior core leads
since these girls have played, she always works hard in
the Riverhawk girls soccer
but they’ve all been doing
practice. Courtney is our
team’s return to competi-
some conditioning drills
center midfielder who is
tion for the first time in 16
in January and February in
also expected to help lead
months, when they meet the preparation for the season,”
our team. Kierstin is our
Riverside Pirates Thursday at said Tonn. “It would’ve been goalkeeper; she’s a good
4 p.m. in Boardman.
nice if we could’ve had a
athlete and she has worked
For Riverhawks Coach
little more practice time. It is very hard while constantly
Colby Tonn and the
nice that we can play again,
showing improvement. I re-
25-member varsity/JV play-
even though it’s a short
ally can’t say enough about
ers and their fans, they can
season.”
the good attitude that all the
now breathe a sigh of relief
The Riverhawk varsity
girls have.”
as the return of high school
squad will be led by a group
Official practice start-
sports has finally become a
of seniors that includes
ed Feb. 22 though some
much welcome reality.
Kierstin White, Hanani
players participated in
“The participation of the
Andrade, Courtney Hert,
informal practice sessions in
girls has been great; they’ve
Illiana Moreno-Lopez,
mid-January and February.
been wanting to get out on
Cadence Snyder and
The OSAA Season 2 sched-
the field and they’re ready to Zara Voodre’. Hert was a
ule, which began March
Prep Schedule (as of 2-28-2021)
Cross Country
Boys Soccer
Volleyball
March 3
The Dalles at Crook
County; Hood River at
Pendleton.
March 6
Columbia at White
Salmon Invite.
March 10
Hood River at The Dalles.
March 2
Horizon at Damascus;
Trout Lake at Riverside
Christian (WA.)
March 4
Riverside at The Dalles
March 5
Hood River at Franklin;
Willamette Valley at Horizon
March 6
Pendleton at The Dalles
March 8
Horizon at Central
Christian; Trout Lake at
Columbia Christian
March 9
Hood River at Pendleton
March 2
Hood River at Redmond;
Columbia at Castle Rock;
Glenwood/Klickitat
at Dufur; Sherman at
Arlington/Ione
March 3
Ridgeview at The Dalles
March 4
Columbia at La Center;
Trout Lake at Dufur; Lyle
at South Wasco; Echo at
Sherman
March 6
The Dalles, Ridgeview at
Hermiston; Crook County at
Hood River
March 9
The Dalles at Hood River;
Goldendale at Columbia;
Dufur at Lyle; Glenwood/
Klickitat at Trout Lake;
Sherman at Condon
Girls Soccer
March 2
Columbia at Castle Rock
March 4
Hood River at Franklin;
The Dalles at Riverside; La
Center at Columbia
March 6
Hermiston at The Dalles
March 9
Columbia at Goldendale;
Hermiston at Hood River
Football
March 5
Hood River at La Salle;
Columbia at Castle Rock;
South Wasco at Prairie City;
Pilot Rock at Dufur;
March 6
1, consists of traditional
fall sports football, soccer,
cross country and volleyball
and concludes April 11.
The Riverhawks have an
eight-game schedule that
concludes with a match
against their Intermountain
Conference rival, Hood River
Valley, April 1 in Hood River.
IMC runners open
dual meet season
The Dalles and Hood
River cross country teams
will test their early-season
fitness levels – or lack thereof
because of a limited training
schedule – at league dual
meets this week.
The Dalles opens
Intermountain Conference
racing with a Wednesday
meet in Prineville against
Crook County; Hood
River heads east to run at
Pendleton the same day. The
Dalles boys edged Crook
County 42-46 at the 2019 dis-
trict meet. Hood River and
The Dalles will race March 10
at Sorosis Park in The Dalles.
Columbia High began its
competitive season Saturday
at a four-team meet at Seton
Catholic in Vancouver.
The Bruin boys team was
third behind Goldendale
and Seton. Sophomore
Camden Uffelman led
Columbia by placing fourth
in the 5000-meter race in
18 minutes, 22 seconds.
Goldendale’s Alden Williams
won the race and led his
team to first place. Seton
swept (first through fifth)
the scoring in the girls race;
Columbia’s top runner was
sophomore Ella Zimmerman
in sixth place.
Baseball signup
March 6
The Dalles’ Babe Ruth
Baseball is signing up players
for the spring and summer
season. Registration is open
to players 12 to 15 years old
from The Dalles and Hood
River area.
In person registration is
at Kramer Field (Babe Ruth
Field) March 6, 10 a.m. to 2
p.m., or call 541-993-2230 to
receive a mail-in application.
Registration fee is $125. New
players to Babe Ruth are
required to provide a copy of
their birth certificate.